TRAGEDY IN JAPAN

The James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy extends its deepest condolences over the loss of life and our sympathies to the people of Japan over the tragedy caused by the devastating earthquake and tsunami.

"We are profoundly saddened by this terrible disaster," said Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian. "From the very beginning of the establishment of the Baker Institute, we have worked closely with individuals and institutions in Japan on public policy issues of mutual interest. The institute is committed to lending our voice to support the relief and recovery efforts now and in the weeks and months ahead."

On April 8, the Science and Technology Policy Program and the Energy Forum held a panel discussion to discuss the impact of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima power plant. "Japan: The Aftermath" featured scientists and scholars who discussed the health and policy implications of these events. For those unable to attend the event, the Baker Institute has produced a four-minute video of highlights from the program, which can be viewed here:

In a Fuel Fix blog post, Amy Myers Jaffe, Wallace S. Wilson Fellow in Energy Studies and director of the Energy Forum, discusses data from the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan, analyzing the energy impacts of the earthquake and tsunami (March 29, 2011).

Energy Forum research associate James Coan looks to past nuclear crises in this Fuel Fix blog post to predict that the situation at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant will have a minimal and temporary negative effect on nuclear attitudes (March 24, 2011).